Tonight's picture was taken in January of 2006. Mattie was in his first year of preschool at the Resurrection Children's Center. His teachers were Margaret and Lana. Margaret allowed me to come into the classroom and have the kids decorate gingerbread houses. This was a real feat, and it required help from Margaret and my mother-in-law. Margaret gave me her lovely gingerbread house baking mold to form the parts of the houses, and my mother-in-law gave me her recipe to make gingerbread as well as the recipe for royal icing, which is used to hold the pieces together. Making two houses were a labor of love, but well worth it, because the children in Mattie's room had a blast. In fact, Margaret opened up her room midway, and other classrooms came in and got a chance to add components to the houses. Featured in tonight's pictures, you will see Mattie next to his classmate, Ellie. I had the chance to spend the day with Ellie and her brother, Gavin today. Their mother is Carolyn, and many of my readers are familiar with Carolyn because she was the chair of our Walk Raffle this year. Carolyn is also my late night buddy who e-mails me and keeps me laughing with her witty sense of humor.
Left: From left to right were Lana (one of Mattie's teachers), Sara Catherine, Nancy, Ellie, Mattie, and Caley
Poem of the day: Bows for Hope by Charlie Brown
THANK YOU CHARLIE FOR THIS WONDERFUL POEM!
A young girl named Lauren
Joined by her friends
Created this project
And the love that it sends
One had the thought
And the rest, they joined in
Sold lots of bows That you secure with a pin
And they donated the money
In the hopes of a cure
So that some other children's
Future would be secure
So a thank you to Lauren
And all of her friends
For this project of hope
And the message it sends.
An update about Peter! He arrived safely into Rwanda today around 5:30pm EST. That means he traveled for 24 hours straight! We did not have a chance to talk, since he was exhausted and went right to bed. He did let me know that the antimalarial drugs he has to take are upsetting his stomach. But this happened during his last trip too, until his body got acclimated to the medication. Thank goodness for technology, Skype and e-mail, keep us connected.
I had the opportunity to visit with Carolyn today and her two children. Carolyn's daughter, Ellie, was in Mattie's first preschool class. Carolyn is from Massachusetts, like Peter, and that created an instantaneous connection for us when we first met several years ago. I had not visited Carolyn's new house before, so it was a treat to be introduced to her charming neighborhood and beautiful house. There is something fun about walking into a house someone just bought, because it can be transformed at that point into anything you want it to be. Carolyn's children love their house and their backyard, and it was wonderful to be witnessing this joy.
I remember spending time with Ellie when she was in Mattie's class. However, it has been years since we really had the opportunity to spend time with each other, but that did not seem to matter. Carolyn's son, Gavin, is around five years old, and watching him today and hearing him talk reminded me of Mattie. He is adorable and has many of the same interests as Mattie. We took Carolyn's children with us today on a shopping adventure to the Christmas Tree Shops in Waldorf, MD. Those of you familiar with New England know that the Christmas Tree Shops has NOTHING to do with Christmas. Instead it is an amazing variety store that sells things at bargain prices. The store in Maryland is larger than anything I remember in Boston, and literally we spent two hours walking around and picking out items. Ellie and Gavin were excellent shoppers, and I commended them, because Mattie would have made it in there maybe 20 minutes at the maximum. Mattie was not a shopper at all, and would grow incredibly impatient with the process. Ellie and Gavin made the adventure fun and they really debated about what items to buy and what would be useful. I was impressed!
I told Carolyn that she introduced me to the Woodrow Wilson bridge today. Frankly in all the years I have lived in Washington, DC I can't recall going over this bridge! But it was beautiful to traverse the bridge and see sailboats in the water. I am sure Peter is reading this from Africa shaking his head. Since he most likely will tell me I have been over this bridge! But honestly I can't recall when or why!
After shopping we went out to lunch together. I told Ellie that she could pick where we go to eat because I was "flexible." She looked at me, and she said what does that mean? She thought I meant the kind of cartwheel and back flip type of flexible, so I laughed with that notion! Ellie and Gavin both brought an item they acquired at the Shops to lunch with them. I was so impressed with their ability to eat, entertain themselves, and yet participate in our conversation when appropriate. Having been a mom of a VERY active boy, I know that teaching children the art of conversation and eating peacefully at a meal are NO easy tasks. I admire the closeness Carolyn has with her children. There is a great deal of respect that they have for each other, and this feeling reminded me very much of the bond I had with Mattie. I enjoyed this adventure today, the opportunity to connect with Carolyn's family, and of course to be included in Carolyn's house transform. I included a link to the Christmas Tree Shops in Marlyand, it is definitely worth the trip!
http://www.christmastreeshops.com/maryland.html
Later this afternoon, I went to visit Mary, Ann's mom. I did not bring Mary a food treat today, but instead I brought her shampoo. She had requested a particular type of shampoo, and I found exactly what she was looking for on our shopping adventure today. I try to bring something to Mary each day, along with printed out photos that Ann sends me from her trip. This gives Mary and I things to talk about. Tonight, as Mary was helped into bed, she did not want me to leave. So I stayed with her for a while in her room. As it was getting darker, Mary wanted me to leave because she did not want me getting home in the dark. However, before leaving she told me that God loves me and he sees all the good and selfless deeds I do. It was indeed a lovely comment, and I know Mary is appreciative of my visits when Ann is out of town.
I would like to end tonight's posting with two messages. The first message is from my friend, Charlie. Charlie wrote, "What a lovely thing for Lauren and her friends to do. In addition to raising money they are clearly raising awareness of a terrible disease that takes our young, vibrant children from us. The pictures of the girls you posted earlier, making the bows and the description of the girls lining up outside the classroom waiting their turns to buy a bow are so impressive. I do hope they get the coverage in the press; so often what we read is negative and it would be nice to see such a wonderful effort recognized. It is very kind of you to continue to spend time with Mary and I hope that today finds her in better shape and improved spirits. I know that she would be far more upset by Ann's absence if you did not find the time to devote to her. As Nancy said this is a very big mitzvah on your part. As I practice today, I send you my energy to help you through this time that Peter is away and I remind you that you are not alone; many of us are just a call or an email away. I hold you gently in my thoughts."
The second message is from my friend and colleague, Nancy. Nancy wrote, "I had a wish that others would be touched by your message and this dreaded disease can be obliterated within our life time. I am in awe of these middle school girls especially Lauren. She , certainly, learned the message of Pay It Forward. If you haven't seen this movie, rent it. You'll see what I mean. Congrats to all of the girls and Siri for being a marvelous teacher. Maybe the bows will be like the hoola hoop, a must have item. It is wonderful that additional students are learning about giving so that others may enjoy life as they do. This may become another way for the Foundation to spread the word. I am on my way out and hope that Peter had a good flight. Peter is a great guy. I love his sensitivity and am glad that you have one of the good ones. I, too, save important messages from my loved ones and they do bring great comfort when I need a pick me up. As you go through the day, I know that you're mind might wander to the quiet. That can be a challenge. As you planned to be with others during the days that Peter is away, I pray this may help you handle the quiet nights. I also hope that Mary has a gentle weekend. It is so unsettling for the elderly to have their routine changed. Your visit did bring some comfort although it might not have seemed as such. You know that just having a person show up is sometimes the only thing that counts. Until next time, I send you love and a hug."
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